Brian "Dirk" Davis - Scuba Diving Instructor

My ratings: PADI IDC Staff Instructor EFR Primary & Secondary Care with AED Instructor DAN Instructor

PADI Specialty Instructor Ratings: AWARE Coral Reef Conservation, Deep Diver, Dry Suit Diver, Enriched Air Nitrox Diver, Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver, Search & Recovery Diver, Underwater Naturalist, Wreck Diver

More About Me:
I was born in Baltimore, Maryland into a family of swimmers. At 5 years old, my older brother broke his collar bone after my mom had already paid for the swim season. Refusing to lose any money, she made me join the team. I was the youngest swimmer on our squad. Standing on the blocks at my first race, I refused to move when the starter’s pistol fired. The quick thinking coach grabbed me by my waist and threw me into the pool. The quicker thinking swimmer – me! – grabbed hold of the lane line and refused to let go. Fearing I would delay the entire meet, he jumped in, fully clothed, and coerced me to the other end of the pull. That was my first 25 yard “sprint” and my trial by fire.

Slowly, a love affair with water blossomed and water started dictating my life. I would swim competitively for 12 more years. I was a lifeguard in high school and college, and then a lifeguard trainer. I chose a university close to the beach and spent more time studying with the crash of waves in the background than the silent hum of a library. SCUBA diving was the natural progression of this life lead by water.

My very fist dive was off the coast of Anacapa in a miserable rain storm in the frigid weather of late January. I was told that if I survived the day, I'd fall in love with scuba. And did I! Since that rough day in 2000, I've been diving here in California, Thailand, and the Caribbean. The warm clear water is nice but the sport of diving is fantastic here at home. One of the reasons I love Los Angeles is how easy it is to pack up the gear and squeeze in a dive or two. (Nothing makes a busy day in the office better than following an octopus along the ocean floor that night.)

When I’m not divin

g, I’m following politics, watching movies, or causing havoc with my non-diving buddies (although, admittedly, there are few of them). I’m interested in public transportation and conservation and dedicated to service. I spend my dry days downtown as the Development Director for a public interest law firm.

Number of Certified Divers: As of June 2007, I have certified more than 130 divers at levels from SCUBA Diver to Assistant Instructor. I enjoy teaching the Open Water SCUBA Diver (beginning level) and even Discover SCUBA experiences because I love being the person who introduces someone to the underwater world, but the excitement and leisure of the Advanced Open Water course is one of the best ways to spend a weekend.

Number of Dives: I have logged over 300 dives in the last seven years. I have dove as deep as 125 feet at Catalina’s Farnsworth Banks. I’ve been diving in Southern California, the Caribbean, and the Similan Islands off of Thailand.

Best Diving Experience: Two great diving experiences immediately come to mind. The first is any dive at Farnsworth Banks. Farnsworth is by far my favorite dive site in Southern California. The second experience was the last dive of our multi-day trip to Thailand in April 2007. I was diving with an awesome group of people who had a ton of fun together over the week. This last dive really meant the world to me, and we all took an opportunity to soak in what a cool experience diving with friends can be!

My Dive Gear:

Atomic B2 regulator: Switching to this regulator changed my diving experience. The mouth piece is the most comfortable I’ve used and the regulator breathes easily at any depth. Mix in that I needn’t service it as often as other regulators on the market and I have the best piece of equipment I could find and afford.

OMS IQ Pack and 32 lb lift BC: I started diving with this system a year ago and I love it. The harness – the IQ Pack – is as comfortable as any BCD but with the versatility of a continuous webbing harness. I’ve added a few extra D-rings, a crotch strap for comfort, and large pockets that easily hold my DAN SMB and finger spool, a back-up light, and a resuscitation mark. (I’ve even been known to slip a camera in these large pockets.) I also made sure I had a dump valve at the end of my inflator hose – a “must-have” in my opinion.

Atomic SplitFins: I don

’t buy that people don’t notice a difference between a paddle and a split fin. I dove in traditional paddle fins for five years, and on the recommendation of my Surface swims are two to three times easier than before and moving along the bottom neutrally is easier than ever before. Plus, the Atomic SplitFins buckles are so easy to undo when beach diving they alone justify the greater expense. instructor, I switched to these SplitFins.

Atomic Frameless UltraClear Mask: Last winter, I broke my last mask and was thrilled; I finally had a reason to get the Atomic Frameless I’d been eyeing for months. I like low volume masks and they don’t get any lower volume than this one. Flooding isn’t a worry because the mask clears with the slightest exhalation. And the low-profile helps improve the field of vision.

TUSA Platina HyperDry snorkel: I’m probably going to be the only instructor who will talk for hours about his snorkel, but it’s because I never thought I liked snorkeling until I picked up this little gem. It’s comfortable in the mouth, mostly dry and easy to clear, and stays securely in place.

What’s next for me? I want to travel more. I’m looking forward to the trip to Dominica in November and hope to get to the Middle East some time in the next five years. Until then,

I’ll keep diving every weekend at home and think of how luck I am to be here!